EX-10.4 4 a2024q3ex-104_griffithxpre.htm EX-10.4 Document
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展示10.4
2024年8月1日
 
格里芬先生
[REDACTED]
[REDACTED]
 
亲爱的约翰:   
 
我谨代表美国水务服务公司确认您将担任总裁一职,汇报给首席执行官苏珊·哈德维克女士,于我们新泽西州坎登总部办公室。您的新职位生效日期为2024年8月1日。我们相信您会发现这个新职位对您个人具有奖励性,您也能在其中为公司做出重要贡献。此招聘函中描述的条款和报酬将经过高管发展与薪酬委员会(ED&CC)的推荐以及独立董事会成员的批准,待获得批准后方可生效。
 
安全、信任、团队合作、高绩效和环保母基领导力定义了我们的文化——一个每位员工都感受到价值并发挥潜能的文化。创造一个包容差异、让每个人都感到参与和被接纳的环境会让我们更安全、更强大、更成功。  我们相信我们的成功建立在员工对我们业务的重大利益。作为团队的一部分,您将负责帮助打造一个更优秀的公司——这样做,您将因自己的贡献而获得回报。以下是我们为您提供的东西:
 
基本薪资:您的新年薪将约为$950,000.00,将以美国水公的标准发薪实践每两周支付,将于2024年8月1日生效。您的工作表现将作为我们的绩效管理流程的一部分每年进行审查,您可能有资格在2025年获得绩效提升。
 
应用程序: Y我们的目标奖励资格将保持在100%。供参考,2024年的周期从01/01/2024到12/31/2024,目标奖励根据您的生效日期进行摊销。年度绩效计划的奖励基于多个公司绩效目标,支付金额可能高于或低于目标值。

LTPP: 您仍然有资格根据2024年美国Water Long Term Performance Plan获得绩效奖,并且您在该计划下的目标机会将增加到您的基本工资的340%。从2024年8月1日起,您将获得第二批授予,反映出您2024年2月授予与基于您新基本工资和LTPP目标百分比的授予金额之间的差额。

为了参考,奖励目前根据公司2017年全权股权薪酬计划(“计划”)的条款和条件授予,以限制性股票单位和绩效股票单位的形式。如果您的入职信与奖励授予文件和计划的条款之间存在任何冲突,则奖励文件和计划的条款将管辖。

好处: 您当前的福利将保持不变,并继续生效,包括您的休假累积。您的职位变动不是符合IRS规定的有资格生活事件,不允许您更改美国水务公司的福利选项,但这是您生活中值得注意的事件。请抓住这个机会,检查一下您的健康和福利福利以及401(k)选举,看看这次变化如何影响您的保障(例如,公司支付的人寿保险金额,HSA选举,401(k)薪酬选举,受益人指定等)。

I除了您目前持有的好处外,美国水务认为您的健康对于您的家人、我们的客户、股东以及您领导的员工来说至关重要。为了帮助您最好地照顾您的健康,我们还为我们的重要领导者提供由公司赞助的执行健康计划。该计划专注于您的身体健康和长期健康,包括全面的风险因素分析、高级诊断筛查、广泛的实验室测试以及持续的辅导和支持。全年还提供额外服务,包括自愿的初级保健服务。







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格里芬先生
2024年8月1日
第2页


非合格递延薪酬计划: 您仍有资格参加我们的非合格递延薪酬计划。公司可能会在适用计划年度结束后尽快进行雇主匹配和明确捐款账户的缴纳。根据非合格递延薪酬计划,雇主匹配捐款即刻授予权益;明确捐款账户的捐款将在五年服务期后授予权益。

由于您将继续担任公司的16号员工,美国水务可能需要在SEC备案中披露您的报酬和/或本聘书。. 您在下方签字表示您接受我们的报价,并承认您职位的此要求。

 
祝您在新的角色和未来机遇中取得美国水公司最好的运气! 
 
此致敬礼,
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苏珊·哈德维克
首席执行官
美国水务

抄送:Melanie Kennedy,首席人力资源官,执行副总裁
        
我,John Griffith,理解我在美国水公司的雇佣关系是"随心所欲",这意味着我没有受雇的保证,也没有一份特定的工作在指定的时间段内。公司或者我可以随时以任何理由或无故终止我的雇佣关系,无论是有原因还是无原因。 


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/s/ 约翰·格里菲斯__________________________7/31/24__________________________________
签名                                                   日期





















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保密协议和协议
本保密政策与协议(“保密协议”)规定了您对下文所述的与公司的机密和专有信息以及贸易秘密相关条款的理解和同意。 您承认并同意,签署本保密协议是为了足够的对价,包括您被美国水务公司或其子公司(统称“公司”)雇佣或继续雇佣; 公司向您提供某些下文描述的机密和专有信息以及贸易秘密的访问权限; 以及公司愿意为您提供有价值的机会、对价和/或利益。 您进一步承认,本保密协议是作为现有美国水务公司处理敏感信息、网络和信息安全的政策之外的补充。
公司的保密政策
保护机密业务信息和商业秘密对于公司的利益和成功至关重要。在公司的受雇过程中,员工可能会创建、发现或接收专有和/或机密信息,包括但不限于:关于市场、关键人员、运营方法、专有知识产权、实物资产、未来发展计划、正在进行的项目、买盘信息、手册、书籍、培训材料、表格和流程、政策、客户或潜在客户清单、客户相关数据、营销计划和战略、财务信息、技术信息、技术过程和方法、算法、与上述任何文件相关的文件,以及其他书面和口头材料(无论是电子文件还是实体复本),这些材料与公司的业务相关(统称“机密信息”)。机密信息包括所有形式和类型的财务、商业、科学、技术、经济或工程信息,包括图案、计划、汇编、程序设备、公式、设计、原型、方法、技巧、过程、程序、或代码,无论是有形还是无形的,并无论如何存储、编制或以实体、电子、图形、照片或书面的方式备忘,只要(A)公司已采取合理措施保持此类信息的机密性;以及(B)信息因不被通常人所知晓或无法通过适当手段轻松获知而直接或潜在地获得独立经济价值,可避免或遏制他人从披露或使用信息中获取经济价值。机密信息也可能属于联邦证券法和公司政策所定义的“具有重大、未公开信息”的范畴,这两者均禁止内幕交易。机密信息可能包含在公司文件、计算机程序、数据库、投资者文件、交易策略和分析模型中。机密信息与用于或拟用于跨州或外国商业的产品或服务相关。
机密信息必须作为机密加以保护,不可在任何时候直接或间接地复制、披露或使用,除非为了公司的利益(在法律允许的范围内),并且直到该知识或信息无通过员工的不正当行为使之成为公共领域为止。员工不可直接或间接向任何人(不包括公司、其任何联属公司、或什么被这些实体雇用或指定且有需要知道的人)泄露或揭露、发表或利用任何机密信息,除非经公司明确书面同意;但是,无论如何,在员工参与、合作、或作证于任何行动、调查,或程序中,或向任何政府机构、立法机构,或任何自律组织(统称「监管机关」)提供资讯时,均不应受任何阻止或限制。员工可参与与监管机关的这些活动,而无需通知或取得公司的事先授权。
Nothing in this document is intended to interfere with or discourage a good faith disclosure to any governmental entity related to a suspected violation of the law. The employee cannot and will not be held criminally or civilly liable under any federal or state trade secret law for disclosing otherwise protected trade secrets or confidential or proprietary information as long as the disclosure is made in (i) confidence to a federal, state, or local government official, directly or indirectly, or to an attorney and solely for the purpose of reporting or investigating a suspected violation of law; or (ii) a complaint or other document filed in a lawsuit or other proceeding, as long as such filing is made under seal. The Company will not retaliate against any employee in any way for a disclosure made in accordance with the law. In the event that the employee makes a disclosure, and the employee files a lawsuit against the Company alleging that the Company retaliated against the employee because of his or her disclosure, the employee may disclose the relevant trade secret or Confidential Information to his or her attorney and may use the trade secret or Confidential Information in the court proceeding only if (i) the employee ensures that any court filing that includes the trade secret or




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Confidential Information at issue is made under seal; and (ii) the employee does not otherwise disclose the trade secret or Confidential Information except as required by court order.

Following the cessation of employment, employees shall deliver to the Company all documents or other materials in their possession, including all copies thereof, which contain or are derived from Confidential Information, and they shall not misappropriate, utilize, disclose or infringe upon the Confidential Information of the Company or any of its affiliates (including the recreation or reconstruction of Confidential Information from memory). At the Company’s request, employees must delete or destroy any and all files and/or backup files on any personal computer, telephone or storage device used for Company purposes, and, at the Company’s request, deliver and/or provide access to the Company to any such devices, cloud systems, disk, thumb and/or flash drives for the Company’s review and permit the Company to delete all Confidential or other Company proprietary material contained on such devices. Employees shall not analyze, reverse engineer, or otherwise seek to determine the composition or structure of any sample or device provided by the Company or the method by which such sample or device was created, except as specifically authorized by the Company in writing. All samples and devices, whether in whole or in pieces, shall be returned to the Company at its request.
A breach of this Agreement would cause irreparable harm and significant injury to the Company, the quantification of which is difficult to ascertain. Because such harm and injury could not be compensable by damages alone, the employee agrees that the Company shall have the right to enforce this Agreement by injunction (without the necessity of a bond or other security and without proving actual damages), specific performance, or other equitable relief without prejudice to any other rights and remedies available to the Company in the event of a breach of this Agreement. The employee acknowledges that: (i) an immediate and irreparable injury would occur without a seizure order; (ii) seizure of the Confidential Information would not interrupt the legitimate business operations of the employee; and (iii) an injunction would not prevent the employee from entering into an employment relationship. You further agree that the Company shall be entitled to its reasonable fees and costs if a court of competent jurisdiction issues a preliminary or permanent injunction against you or a court of competent jurisdiction finds that you breached the terms of the Agreement.
The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”) governs the trade secret aspects of this Agreement. Otherwise, the validity, interpretation, and enforceability of this Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey and the United States of America without regard to the conflict of laws principles thereof. Employees with questions regarding this Confidentiality Agreement or the Company’s Confidentiality Policy including questions regarding whether any particular information constitutes “Confidential Information,” the public disclosure of which is prohibited hereunder, should contact their supervisor or the Chief Compliance Officer. Employees who improperly use or disclose trade secrets or Confidential Information may be subject to disciplinary action, up to and including termination of employment, as well as legal action, even if the employee does not actually benefit from the disclosed information.
You acknowledge that you (a) have carefully read and considered the provisions of this Confidentiality Agreement and the Company’s Confidentiality Policy (b) have had a reasonable opportunity to consult with an independent legal counsel of your choosing, and (c) accept this Confidentiality Agreement on the terms set forth herein, intending to be legally bound. You understand that it is your responsibility to read and comply with its contents and any revisions made to it.

__/s/ JOHN GRIFFITH_________________________
Employee Signature
__John Griffith ___________________________
Employee Name (Print)
__7/31/24_______________________________
Date





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INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AGREEMENT
This Agreement sets forth the agreements between you and AWIP Holdings LLC (“AWIP”) concerning any inventions you may make or works you may create in connection with your employment by American Water Works Company, Inc. or one of its affiliates or subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company”) and your treatment of the Company’s confidential and proprietary information. You acknowledge and agree that you are signing this Agreement for good and adequate consideration including (a) your employment by or continuing employment by the Company; (b) the access that the Company is providing you to certain confidential and proprietary information and trade secrets described below; and (c) the Company’s willingness to provide you with valuable opportunities, consideration and/or benefits.

1.0 INVENTIONS. As used in this Agreement, the term “Inventions” means any and all inventions, ideas, and discoveries, including improvements, original works of authorship, designs, formulas, processes, methods, algorithms, computer programs or portions thereof, databases, trade secrets and proprietary information, documentation, and materials made, created, conceived or reduced to practice by you, whether alone or jointly with others.

    a. Your Rights in Inventions

        (i) Prior Inventions. In the space provided below, or on a separate sheet attached to this Agreement, you may list all Inventions (a) that you made prior to your employment by the Company; (b) that you claim belong to you, or that you claim an ownership interest in, or that you claim any other legal right or title in; and (c) in which you wish to retain any claimed ownership or other legal rights (“Prior Inventions”). If you do list such Prior Inventions, you hereby grant to AWIP a royalty-free, irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide license to any Prior Invention that is now or hereafter infringed by a Company product, process, or method of doing business (hereinafter “AWIP Product”) if: (i) you were involved in the development or implementation of that portion of the AWIP Product which infringes your Prior Invention, or (ii) you acquiesced or permitted other Company employees to utilize your Prior Invention in the course of their development or implementation of the AWIP Product, or (iii) upon first learning of the Company’s use of your Prior Invention you do not immediately notify in writing the Company’s Legal Department of the Company’s infringing use of your Prior Invention and the need for a license thereto. If you do not list a Prior Invention, you acknowledge and agree that no such Prior Inventions exist and, to the extent such Prior Inventions do exist, you waive any and all rights or claims of ownership to such Prior Inventions. You understand that your listing of any Prior Invention(s) here does not constitute an acknowledgment by the Company of the existence or extent of such Prior Invention, nor of your ownership of such Prior Inventions. Please do not use this space to disclose an on-going business or project, or a product that you are developing and/or distributing.

Prior Inventions (description and identifying number of patent, copyright, or patent or copyright application, if applicable):
Title                             Date
Brief Description of Invention

☐ A separate sheet listing Prior Inventions is attached.











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(ii) Future Employee inventions. The Company acknowledges and agrees, in accordance with applicable state law, that any Inventions (a) that you develop entirely on your own time; and (b) that you develop without using the Company’s equipment, supplies, facilities, or trade secret information; and (c) that do not result from any work performed by you for the Company; and (d) that do not relate, at the time of conception or reduction to practice, to the Company’s business or products, or to the Company’s actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, will be owned entirely by you, even if developed by you during the time period in which you are employed by the Company.
    b. AWIP’s Rights In Inventions

        (i) Assignment of Inventions to AWIP. You agree that all Inventions that (a) are developed using the equipment, supplies, facilities, or Proprietary Information of the Company; or (b) result from or are suggested by work performed by you for the Company; or (c) are conceived or reduced to practice during your employment by the Company and relate to the business and products, or to the actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development of the Company (“AWIP Inventions”), are the sole and exclusive property of AWIP, and you hereby assign all your right, title and interest in such AWIP Inventions to AWIP. You agree to perform any and all acts requested by AWIP, if any, to perfect this assignment.

        (ii) Disclosure. You agree to make full written disclosure promptly to your direct supervisor at AWIP of any and all AWIP Inventions, and provide access to all notes, materials, source code, or other items related to AWIP Inventions.

        (iii) Assignment of Moral Rights to AWIP. In addition, to the extent permitted by law, you hereby transfer and assign any “moral” rights that you may have in any AWIP Invention(s) under any copyright or other law, whether U.S. or foreign. “Moral” rights are defined as (1) the right of attribution (give credit to the author); and (2) the right of integrity in the AWIP Invention (not do something with an AWIP Invention, such as change or add to it, that would have a negative impact on the author’s reputation). You agree to waive and never to assert any such “moral” rights in AWIP Inventions during or after the cessation of your employment with by the Company. You agree that AWIP, its subsidiaries, and its licensees are not required to designate you as the author of any AWIP Inventions when distributed. You also agree that the Company retains sole discretion with regard to how and for what purposes, if any, such AWIP Invention(s) are used.

    c. Work for Hire

You acknowledge that all original works of authorship that are made by you (solely or jointly with others) within the scope of your employment by the Company, and that are protectable by copyright, are works made for hire, as that term is defined in the United States Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 101). To the extent any works created by you within the scope of your employment cannot be characterized as a work made for hire, you hereby grant, assign and transfer to AWIP all right, title and interest, including all intellectual property in and to works.

d. Protection of AWIP Inventions

You agree (at AWIP’s expense) to assist AWIP in every proper way to obtain and to help AWIP enforce patents, copyrights, and other legal protections for AWIP Inventions in any and all countries. You agree to promptly execute any documents that American Water may reasonably request, or perform such legal acts that may be required, for use in obtaining or enforcing such patents, copyrights, and other legal protections.

2.0 CONFIDENTIAL AND PROPRIETARY INFORMATION. You understand that your employment by the Company creates a relationship of confidence and trust with respect to any information of a confidential, proprietary, and secret nature that may be disclosed to you or otherwise learned by you in the course of your employment at the Company, including but not limited to any confidential information of third parties disclosed to the Company. Such confidential, proprietary, and secret information includes, but is not limited to, information and material relating to past, present, or future Inventions, marketing plans, manufacturing and product plans, technical specifications, hardware designs and prototypes, business strategies, financial information, forecasts, personnel information, processes, methods, algorithms, and customer lists, and is referred to collectively in this Agreement as “Proprietary Information.”





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a. Confidentiality of Proprietary Information. You acknowledge and agree that your employment by the Company requires you to keep all Proprietary Information in confidence and trust for the tenure of your employment and thereafter, and that you will not use or disclose Proprietary Information without the written consent of the Company, except as necessary to perform your duties as an employee of the Company. Upon the cessation of your employment with the Company, you will promptly deliver to the Company all documents, electronically-stored information, materials and property of any kind pertaining to your work at the Company, and you agree that you will not take with you any documents, electronically-stored information, materials or copies thereof, or maintain access to such documents, information or materials, through online digital storage services, whether on paper, electronic media or storage devices, magnetic or optical media, or any other medium, containing any Proprietary Information.

3.0 PROTECTION OF INFORMATION OF OTHERS

    a. Information of Others. You agree that during your employment by the Company and thereafter, you will not improperly use or disclose to the Company any confidential, or proprietary, or secret information of your former employer(s) or any other person(s). You further agree that you have not, and during your employment with the Company will not, bring any confidential, proprietary or secret information of your former employer(s) or any other person(s) onto the Company’s property or place any such information on any of the Company’s computer systems or servers.

4.0 NO CONFLICTING OBLIGATIONS

    a. No Conflicting Outside Interests. You agree that during your employment by the Company you will not plan or engage in any other employment, occupations, consulting or other business activities or commitments competitive with or directly related to the Company’s business or products, or to its actual or demonstrably anticipated research or development, nor will you engage in any other activities that conflict with your employment obligations to the Company. Activities and commitments as used herein do not include passive investments in stocks or other financial instruments.

    b. No Conflicting Agreements. You represent to the Company that you have no other commitments that would hinder or prevent the full performance of your duties as a Company employee or your obligations under this Agreement, and you agree not to enter into any such conflicting agreement during your employment by the company.

    c. Disclosure of Agreement. You hereby authorize the Company to notify others, including customers of the Company, and any future employers you may have, of the terms of this Agreement and your responsibilities under this Agreement.

5.0 PROTECTION OF COMPANY RELATIONSHIPS

If you are in a supervisory position, except for employees in a supervisory position in California, Illinois, and Oklahoma, during the period of your employment and for a period of one (1) year following the cessation of your employment, you will not, directly or indirectly, solicit, encourage, recruit, or take any action intended to induce Company employees or contractors to terminate their relationship with the Company.

6.0 NO IMPLIED EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS. You understand and agree that no term or provision of this Agreement confers upon you any rights to continued employment by the Company and that no term or provision of this Agreement obligates the Company to employ you for any specific period of time or interferes with or restricts your right or the Company’s right to terminate your employment at any time for any reason and with or without notice, or the Company’s right to terminate your employment for just cause in accordance with the applicable collective bargaining agreement if you are a union employee.

7.0 EQUITABLE RELIEF. A breach of the provisions of sections 1, 2 or 4 of this Agreement would cause irreparable harm and significant injury to the Company, the quantification of which is difficult to ascertain. Because such harm and injury could not be compensable by damages alone, you agree that the Company will have the right to enforce sections 1, 2 or 4 of this Agreement by injunction (without the necessity of a bond or other security and without proving actual damages), specific performance or other equitable relief in addition to any other rights and remedies available to the Company in the event of a breach of this Agreement. You further agree that the Company shall be entitled to its reasonable fees and costs if a court of competent jurisdiction issues a preliminary or permanent injunction against you or a court of competent jurisdiction finds that you breached the terms of the Agreement.



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8.0 GENERAL PROVISIONS

    a. Severability. If one or more of the provisions of this Agreement is or are deemed void or unenforceable by law, then the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

    b. Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the state of New Jersey, without regard to its conflicts of law principles. Any arbitration or judicial action between the parties relating to this Agreement will take place in Camden County, New Jersey, and you and the Company each consent to the personal jurisdiction of and venue in the state and federal courts within Camden County, New Jersey.

    c. Successors and Assigns. This Agreement will be binding upon your heirs, executors, administrators and other legal representatives, and will be for the benefit of the Company, its successors and assigns. You specifically acknowledge and agree that the Company may assign its rights and obligations hereunder to any successor entity to the Company by operation of law or otherwise.

    d. Entire Agreement. This Agreement, along with Company’s CONFIDENTIALITY POLICY AND AGREEMENT of which you are also required to acknowledge receipt and understanding, sets forth the entire agreement between you and the Company relating to the subject matter of this Agreement. No modification to or amendment of this Agreement, nor any waiver of any rights under this Agreement, will be effective unless in writing signed by both you and a Company officer. Any subsequent changes in your duties, salary or compensation will not affect the validity or scope of this Agreement.

    e. Compliance with Laws. You agree that you will comply, and do all things necessary for the Company to comply, with the laws and regulations of all governments where the Company does business, and with provisions of contracts between any such government or its contractors and the Company.


9.0 EMPLOYEE ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. You acknowledge that you have carefully read and considered the provisions of this Agreement, have had a reasonable opportunity to consult with an independent legal counsel of your choosing, and accept this Agreement on the terms set forth herein, intending to be legally bound.

EMPLOYEE

__/s/ JOHN GRIFFITH_________________________________                
Employee Signature

__John Griffith_____________________________________
Employee Name (Print)
_7/31/24_______________________________________
Date
                



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